Chapter 57

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Lord Howard paused for a moment as he looked at the girl.

A girl with white hair and red eyes.

She wasn’t the kind of girl who should be in a situation or place like this.

“…Who are you?”

“Ah, Father, something’s strange. Could that child…?”

Gulden muttered.

“Sh-she might be a witch…!”

At that moment, a knight standing beside Lord Howard approached the girl.

“Hey, kid. Get out of here. This isn’t a place for a brat like you to wander around…”

Swipe—

The knight’s head was cleanly severed.

As if a shadow had sliced through it.

“…!”

Lord Howard’s eyes widened, and Gulden let out a shriek—“Hieek!”—before collapsing to the ground.

Thud—

The girl took a step forward, and Lord Howard and Gulden took a step back.

“Wh-who are you…?”

Lord Howard asked in a trembling voice.

“What’s the reason for all this?”

The girl had just killed the knight without even moving a finger.

It was like some kind of evil magic.

If that was the case, then this entire situation must be the girl’s doing.

If she could control undead and wield evil magic, there was only one thing she could be.

A witch.

But why would a witch…?

“Ellie.”

The girl spoke softly.

“I’m Ellie’s friend.”

“…”

At the girl’s words, Lord Howard’s face turned pale.

“E-Ellie…?”

“Yes.”

The girl nodded indifferently.

For a moment, Lord Howard felt a surge of anger.

The underground prison had been destroyed, and countless soldiers and knights had died, all because of Ellie?

All because of that little girl?

But Lord Howard forced himself to calm down.

There was no benefit in provoking this girl now.

“…I won’t touch Ellie from now on, so let’s stop here. What I want isn’t Ellie, but the magic stone buried in the Leyton Forest. If you just let me have that…”

“No!”

At that moment, Gulden shouted from behind.

“I can’t give up on Ellie, Father! You promised me! Besides, the Leyton family has already agreed to the marriage! Ellie will forever be my…”

“You stupid brat!”

Slap—!

Lord Howard struck his son across the face.

“Can’t you understand the situation? You idiot!”

If this situation really happened because of Ellie, then the cause lay with Gulden.

It was because Gulden had brought up the marriage with Ellie that things had gone wrong.

No, perhaps it had been wrong from the moment they had captured Lord Leyton in such a despicable way, but Lord Howard couldn’t think that far ahead now.

Lord Howard’s resentment turned toward Gulden.

“You worthless fool! You’ve decided to ruin the family, haven’t you? The situation has come to this, and you’re saying you can’t give up on Ellie? Now I see, you’ve been harboring filthy desires for Ellie. That’s why you’ve ruined the family’s affairs!”

“H-hic…”

Gulden burst into tears.

Seeing his grown son crying like a child, Lord Howard felt a surge of murderous intent.

“E-Ellie… Ellie…”

Thud—

The girl approached and stood in front of Gulden.

Her red eyes stared at Gulton without a hint of emotion.

“Please, give me Ellie… I’ll protect her… Give Ellie… to me…”

“No.”

The girl spoke quietly.

“Ellie is mine.”

Swipe—

Gulden’s head was severed by a shadow.

Thud, roll—

Gulden’s head rolled across the floor, and his body collapsed limply.

“…”

Lord Howard looked at his son’s corpse with a face full of terror.

His only heir was dead, but he didn’t feel sad.

In this situation, the only thing that mattered was his own survival.

If he could survive, the family would endure.

“P-please spare me…”

Lord Howard knelt down.

Even though she was just a girl who couldn’t be more than ten years old, he didn’t care about that.

At a time like this, pride was of no use.

“I-I’ll do anything if you spare me… I’ll sincerely apologize to Ellie, and I’ll never touch the Leyton territory again. I’ll even give up the magic stone. If you want, you can take all the wealth in my castle. Just spare my life…”

Lord Howard’s forehead touched the ground.

It was a pitiful sight for a lord who ruled over a territory, but Lord Howard thought that such humility might convince the girl to spare him.

But Lord Howard’s thoughts were mistaken.

“No.”

The girl spoke.

“It’s too late.”

“Wha…?”

Lord Howard tried to lift his head quickly.

But the shadow had already passed over his neck.

Only his body remained standing, while his head was already rolling across the floor.

Thud—

His body collapsed limply.

Thud. Thud.

◈

Lord Leyton continued to move forward through the dark space.

Skeletons surrounded him as if providing an escort, and knights followed behind.

In the silence, one of the knights spoke up.

“This is really…”

The knight smiled bitterly as he spoke.

“To think I’d live to see the day when I’m escorted by undead…”

“Tell me about it.”

Another knight nodded and placed his hand on the head of a skeleton walking beside him.

“Look at this. The bones aren’t even rotting; they’re shiny and smooth.”

“Hey, stop that. It’s creepy.”

“Why? If you look closely, isn’t it kind of cute? It feels like touching the statue that used to stand in the village square when I was a kid. By the way, does this guy even have a gender?”

The knight’s hand slipped downward.

At that moment, the skeleton suddenly turned its head to look at the knight, who flinched and quickly pulled his hand away, stepping back.

“Ugh, sorry. Don’t be mad.”

“Pfft.”

The other knights burst into laughter.

It was a moment that eased the tense atmosphere.

“My lord.”

Another knight spoke up.

“About that girl earlier… It’s a relief that she saved us, but seeing how she controls the undead, it’s still…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Lord Leyton spoke firmly.

“No matter what that girl’s identity is, it doesn’t matter. She’s Ellie’s friend and our savior. That’s enough.”

“…”

After a brief silence, the knights nodded quietly.

“You’re right, my lord.”

One knight smiled as he spoke.

“Thanks to that girl, we’ve gained such reliable comrades. It’s a good thing.”

The knight tapped the shoulder of the skeleton beside him, and the skeleton stared blankly at him.

Seeing this, the other knights laughed again.

“Anyway, once we return to the castle, let’s keep quiet about that girl.”

Lord Leyton said.

“There’s no benefit in letting rumors spread.”

“Understood.”

Soon after, the end of the passage came into view.

At the end of the passage was, as expected, a hole that looked like it had been melted through.

‘Impressive…’

Lord Leyton marveled inwardly.

He hadn’t seen Lucy create the hole in the back of the underground prison, but she must have done it in an instant.

Creating such a long hole in an instant would be impossible with ordinary magic.

Lord Leyton couldn’t even begin to imagine the extent of Lucy’s abilities.

‘It’s a good thing she’s Ellie’s friend…’

If she had been an enemy instead of Ellie’s friend, it would have been terrifying.

Facing a witch who could freely control undead and wield such powerful magic was something anyone would want to avoid.

At this point, he almost felt sorry for Lord Howard.

As the passage ended, Lord Leyton and the knights stepped outside.

Outside was a forest faintly illuminated by moonlight.

The cold air seeped into their lungs, and the cool breeze helped dissipate the heat from their bodies.

It was refreshing.

“Good work, friends.”

“Thank you. For protecting us.”

Watching the knights greet the skeletons, Lord Leyton let out a quiet chuckle.

They probably wouldn’t need an escort from here.

With undead appearing in the castle, there was no way they’d have the resources to pursue them this deep into the forest.

‘How meticulous.’

The fact that the hole led to the forest meant Lucy had devised a detailed plan to help Lord Leyton escape.

‘She’s truly an extraordinary child.’

Lord Leyton nodded to himself in admiration once again.

…In truth, Lucy had just broken through the wall without much thought, and it had luckily connected to the forest. But of course, Lord Leyton had no way of knowing that.

“Let’s head back.”

After gauging the position of the moon, Lord Leyton began walking in the direction of the Leyton territory.

◈

Howard Castle had finally returned to silence.

The underground prison was filled with headless corpses, and among them were the bodies of Lord Howard and his son, Gulden.

All the knights were dead as well.

As the captain of the guards surveyed the underground prison, now marked only by traces of horrific slaughter, he realized the situation was completely over.

However, as the captain, he had no way of knowing the full story of what had happened.

“What on earth happened here tonight…?”

Among the soldiers currently recovering the bodies in the underground prison, no one knew the full details.

All they had were reports of something that sounded like an explosion and terrifying screams echoing through the area.

Anyone who might have known the full story had met their end here.

“Could it have been some kind of monster attack?”

A soldier approached and whispered. The captain flinched and looked at the soldier.

“You startled me. What are you talking about? A monster, you say?”

“Yes. Look, there’s a strange hole here.”

“Hmm.”

The captain stroked his chin as he examined the hole.

It was indeed a suspicious hole.

The soldier spoke in a confident tone.

“This hole leads to the forest, so it’s clear that a monster dug through here, and that’s how this tragedy happened.”

“Then where is the monster now?”

“It must have fled. Back through this hole to the forest…”

“I see.”

The captain nodded in understanding.

There was no other way to explain it.

“You’re quite sharp.”

“You flatter me.”

The soldier scratched his head with an awkward smile, looking quite pleased with his conclusion.

Meanwhile, the captain crossed his arms and let out a sigh.

He understood the situation, but he was at a loss as to how to handle it going forward.

All the knights of Howard territory were dead, and even the lord and his heir had perished.

What would happen to this territory now?

“Well… it’ll work out somehow.”

Perhaps someone would come forward to inherit the Howard territory, or the royal family would appoint a new lord.

Either way, it wasn’t his concern.

“For now, let’s focus on recovering the bodies…”

“Understood.”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
That aside, it’s more than 30 heads now right?

Amon has to eat that bread now!